Cherish
by Mei Sanniang
Summary: Shippuuden :: AU :: Hinata Hyuuga is different from the rest of the girls in Konoha High Private Academy, and she struggles to gain Naruto Uzumaki's love, and to protect her feelings for him. Where does Sasuke Uchiha fit into all this?


**A/N: Hi, readers. I've decided to make another story. xD This doesn't mean I've abandoned my other SasuHina fics. Er... yeah, **_**another high school fic.**_** :D Enjoy.**

_Conceited. Stuck-up. Goody-two-shoe on the outside, whore on the inside._

All of these were directed towards Hinata Hyuuga, despite all inaccuracy. Hinata, a sweet, mild-tempered girl, was nowhere near conceited, stuck-up, nor even close to being a whore. She should be described as beautiful and pure as snow, her personality warm like the rays of the sun.

But not in Konoha High Private Academy. Nearly everyone that was attending the academy was superficial.

"I'd appreciate it if you would quit staring, please," In the crowd of pedestrians, a soft voice was surprisingly heard by all. Hinata pushed through the crowd after telling off a perverted geezer, inside she was ready to collapse from nerve-wracking stares. It took all of her efforts to not stutter just now.

Ivory skin, long locks of ebony with a little tinge of navy-blue, big, bedroom lavender eyes that men found alluring... and her overall innocent appearance. Beautiful, easy, and clueless?

A little ways from her, two of Hinata's classmates exchanged words without her knowing.

"That girl's in our class, isn't she?"

"She's always so quiet."

"She's always by herself."

"Doesn't that make her easy to approach?"

"...what? You want to ask her out?"

"Wh-what the hell are you talking about?"

The two teenage boys scuttled off in the direction of the academy, in fear of being late.

"Hey, Hinata!" A cheerful voice called; in response, Hinata turned and her eyes met blazing red ones. "Are you okay? You seem sort of down!"

"Oh, hi, Karin." Hinata offered a smile, a mask that hid what was going on inside of her.

"I saw! Who was that old creep?! He didn't try to pay you for sex, did he?" Karin was being extra-loud today.

"Er..." Hinata blushed. "Y-yes, b-but it doesn't m-matter, anymore."

"Oh, c'mon! Quote him!"

Hinata sighed, seeing this as an embarrassment. But this could also be a chance to vent off her anger now that they were in the locker room, and no one was around. "'Hey, babe, how's 50 bucks sound?' He asked me that." Her lavender eyes trailed the floor, and her cheeks were flushed – with anger. "How embarrassing is that? I- I- mean... h-how... what kind of girl did he think I was?"

"That's so gross. But you kind of do look like the easy type. Maybe you should stop looking _too _innocent, huh? Then maybe old men'll leave you alone." Karin giggled.

Inwardly, Hinata felt a bit bitter. Why was she such an outcast? Just because of her different appearance? She looked at Karin, studying her. This was the golden girl every guy in the academy wanted. Short flaming red hair, beautiful crimson eyes, sun-kissed skin... so heavy in contrast with Hinata's appearance. Karin was never friendless, and had always had guys teeming behind her every step.

Then again, it wouldn't be so bad to be left alone, a reassuring thought entered Hinata's mind. More privacy, right? ...not so much.

"Look, it's Naruto!" Karin yelled. "Hi, Naruto!"

Hinata's heart leapt suddenly.

"Hey, Karin! Hinata!" This boy, with his bright personality and warmth had captured Hinata for so long. He grew more beautiful by the day, by the years... making it harder for Hinata to let go of her long-held crush on him. He was adorable, not to mention attractive in every way possible, with his messy mop of blond hair, sparkling aquamarine eyes, the figure of an athletic baseball player.

Hinata's trance broke, when Naruto looked her directly in the eyes. "Er... ohayo, Naruto-san."

"_Ne, ne,_ Hinata-chan! We're friends, aren't we? No need for proper terms!" Naruto grinned. He fished through his pant pocket and handed something to her, a large sticker. "Here."

"...wh-what's this?" Hinata asked in a whisper as she shakily took what he gave her. _A picture of Naruto, Sakura, and Lee?_

Sakura and Lee were her friends since middle school, they still attended the same academy, however, with their mixed schedules – the three barely get to see each other anymore.

"Yeah, Sakura said to give you it." Naruto grinned again.

"Th-thanks, Naruto-s... kun." Hinata smiled shyly, cheeks flaming. _And thank you, Sakura-chan. I have a picture of Naruto, now._

"Alright, then. See you girls later." He gave a brief wave and walked off, disappearing around the corner.

Little did Hinata know, Karin had been watching every aspect of her – her expressions, gestures, and spoken words.

As Hinata sat in a secluded area on sidewalk with Karin behind her, she held a large drawing board – too infatuated with the picture she'd gotten from Naruto earlier to finish her art assignment.

_I have my own picture of Naruto-kun, now... I can die happy! _Her face held a dreamy look.

"You like talking to Naruto, don't you?" Karin suddenly chirped, breaking her dream-like trance.

"W-what?" Hinata almost gasped.

"I notice you don't talk much to other guys, but you talk to him all the time."

"Um... I guess." The dark-haired girl swallowed, again trying her hardest not to stutter. "We were in the same class junior high. Everyone was r-really close back then... so yeah, I like talking to him." She also tried to sound as casual as possible. "Oh!" Hinata shifted the attention to the pail of water for the brushes. "Gotta change this! I'll be right b-back!" The girl suddenly stood up, and walked past Karin towards the nearest vicinity.

Karin only stared with a contemplative and scheming look on her face as she walked by.

Hinata found relief to be out of that conversation. She was about to give out before changing the subject, and rescuing herself. Patting herself on the heart as if to stop it from beating so fast, the girl sighed and looked around until her ears caught a conversation. There were boys painting a bit far from her, so she was out of sight.

"Dude, you like her, too?"

"Definitely. Karin's the hottest chick in school."

"Hah, and standing next to Hinata she looks that much better!"

_...how mean! _Hinata furrowed her brows.

"But Hinata's not bad looking... she's pretty cute, actually. Too bad she's such a prude."

"Heh, who knows? It's usually innocent girls like her who turn out to be whores."

"Shut up." A familiar voice suddenly piped up. Hinata noticed that it was Naruto. "Hinata's a nice girl. She needs to stay that way because she has a little sister to take care of. Her mom's deceased. I've known Hinata since junior high, she's not that kind of girl. So don't talk trash about her."

Hearing this, Hinata blushed furiously, nearly dropping the pail of water._Naruto-kun... he stood up for me._ Tears of joy formed in the corner of her eyes. _As long as Naruto understands, I don't care what anyone else thinks about me!_

"Hinata-chan?"

Hinata nearly screamed from the unexpected call, and turned to see Karin holding two drawing boards. "Sensei says it's time to go in."

"O-oh... o-okay. Er... I guess I won't be needing to change th-the water, huh?" She stuttered her response. "Th-thanks for bringing my stuff. I got it." Hinata accepted the drawing board and tote bag Karin handed over.

While Hinata walked a little in front of her, quieter than a mouse, Karin studied the girl with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

It wasn't long until they were in a classroom again. Math class, however, wasn't very productive because a substitute was currently in charge. He was a rather stout man, and didn't have a care at all for the students. Since they all entered, he only greeted them, assigned them their classwork, and sat in the teacher's desk – constantly munching on food. Because everyone was allowed to do whatever they pleased, the class went by faster than usual; it ended pretty soon and students began to empty into the halls once more.

"_Ne,_ Hinata-chan."

"Yes?"

"Do you like anyone?"

"Uh...wh-what?"

"You do, don't you?"

Hinata grew nervous, sweat beginning to form in her palms. Karin mustn't know about her admiration for Naruto, or it would mean the end of the world. Her world, that is. And if Hinata denied it, there was no way the red-head would believe her.

"Let me guess who it is." Karin smiled. Evilly.

_Uh-oh... she's got that look in her eye! Does she know? What will I do? **She'll get him and I'll be alone...** I need something. Someone... **This is it! **I need a distraction! **She's going to guess!**_

Hinata's eyes frantically searched along the hallway's expanse, looking for a guy worthy to be her (distraction) "crush".

"How did you know?" Hinata laughed sheepishly, and continued, "You could tell? You mean you knew all the time that I liked..." After her eyes swept the surroundings at least once, Hinata lifted her hand and pointed an index finger at a tall figure across the hall, about three meters away from where they stood. She didn't even realize who it was she pointed at, for she was looking at Karin's face the whole time, anticipating her reaction. _Is she going to believe me? _That exact thought ran through her mind at least thirty times within ten seconds.

And Karin did indeed fall for it. Her bright, crimson eyes not-so-much hidden behind thin spectacles landed on a male, who was very attractive. And that was an understatement. Karin immediately understood why Hinata would have a crush on this guy.

Relieved at the look on Karin's face, Hinata followed where her index finger was pointing and immediately blushed even more, realizing that the guy had momentarily paused his conversation and looked at her directly in the eye. He was tall, with dark hair framing the side of his handsome face... dark eyes that were very deep. Judging by the mixed crowd of guys and gals around him, he's got to be very popular. Hinata quickly drew her hand to her side and looked at the floor, feeling like a thousand of ice-cold arrows just shot through her body.

"You like Sasuke Uchiha!?" Karin, in a hoarse voice, continued to gape at him, directing the question towards Hinata.

_Oh, yell it out, why don't you?_

Poor Hinata.

**A/N: Yay! First chapter! Sorry if it's rather short, but I'm not even supposed to be writing, since I have a research paper to do. Anyways, tell me what you think please and review. nn**


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